Check out the March 2021 issue of Prepared Foods, featuring our annual State of the Industry, which looks at food and beverage trends and innovations taking place in the retail market.
It's clear that consumers still have appetites for comforting, flavorful foods, better-for-you functional beverages, convenient at-home meal solutions, and more. Prepared Foods finds many examples of innovation—category by category—in the grocery bag.
Six in 10 consumers say they are cooking more at home—the single biggest change in behavior and one that sounds bullish for sauce, dressing, condiment, and spread makers.
Post-COVID-19, consumers will gravitate towards trusted brands that remind them they're part of something bigger and provide a sense of community. Likewise, expect consumers also to respond to messaging that highlights key themes of comfort, safety, stability and practicality.
Eighty-five percent of Americans experienced at least some change in their eating or food preparation habits because of COVID-19
March 22, 2021
A year ago, almost nobody could have imagined how dramatically everyone’s life would change in 2020. What we eat, how we purchase it, and how we prepare and eat it are among the most far-reaching impacts we have seen because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although most of today’s new plant-based dairy alternatives are cold—displayed in the dairy case or the freezercase—they constitute one of the supermarket’s hottest and fastest growing segments. And it’s no surprise market observers are scrutinizing every element behind who’s purchasing these products—along with what’s selling, when, where and why.
It's true that plant-based meat, poultry and seafood alternatives are generating headlines (and new products) by the score. Yet it doesn't take long to see that mainstream meat, poultry and seafood items truly fuel the flame in grocery sales.
It’s been 26 years since the California Milk Processor board first launched its legendary “Got Milk?” campaign. Even with the passing of time, the slogan (picked up the Milk Processor Education Program) still speaks to milk’s role as an at-home, every day staple.
Years of tepid sales quickly reversed with a COVID-19 pandemic that forced consumers into new work-at-home and eat-at-home routines. This certainly helped boost packaged breakfast food sales.
COVID-19 has dimmed the prospects for specialty chocolate retail stores as the pandemic pushes consumers to grocery stores and online distribution channels
Want to talk candy trends? It’s not unusual to talk about new offerings combining both sweet and sour flavors. Then again, sweet and sour also describes life itself the candy industry.
Ample demand exists for products that promote health and wellness, especially products that improve overall health, boost immunity, increase energy and alleviate stress
Ringing in the New Year is a time for reflection and re-evaluation of life choices. Many consumers start by setting goals for self-improvement to make the coming year better than the last. After a tremulous 2020, improving overall health and wellness is at the top of the list.
Bakery foods, especially baking ingredients, were one of the first categories to experience COVID-19-induced consumption gains in 2020. Last spring brought shelter-in-place orders and they unleashed a once-in-a-lifetime stampede for home baking supplies.